Singer Hong Seobeom and his wife, Jo Gap-gyeong, have issued a statement responding to reports that their younger son had an affair.
On the 28th, the couple told outlets including MK Sports that they are “bowing our heads and deeply apologizing to the public for the disappointment and distress caused by our son’s recent divorce lawsuit.”
They said that after returning to Korea they personally reviewed court documents and the divorce proceedings and discovered “significant discrepancies” between what they had been told and what the records show.
Out of respect for their adult son’s privacy, the couple said they had not intervened in the divorce process. But they acknowledged that, as parents, they “failed to closely monitor our child’s mistakes” and expressed regret for not setting a better example as public figures.
While an appeal is ongoing, the couple pledged to press their son’s legal team to ensure he complies with the trial court’s orders. “We will instruct our son through his legal representatives to promptly fulfill his obligations under the first-instance ruling, including child support and alimony,” they said, adding that they fully respect the other party’s decisions regarding the birth and care of their granddaughter and will support their son so he can fulfill his responsibilities as a father.
The couple closed by apologizing again “to everyone who has been concerned or hurt.”
The controversy surfaced on the 25th, when reports claimed the couple’s younger son had an affair and that a nonmarital relationship had collapsed. According to legal sources, on Sept. 26 of last year the Daejeon Family Court partially ruled in favor of the son’s former wife, identified as A, ordering Hong to pay 30 million KRW (22,500 USD) in damages and to pay 800,000 KRW (600 USD) per month in child support.
A met Hong in 2021 and they married in February 2024; she became pregnant a month later. In April of that year, conflict emerged after Hong allegedly began an affair with a fellow teacher, B. Hong temporarily left home; B admitted to the relationship while Hong denied wrongdoing. The court found adultery and held Hong responsible for the breakdown of the marriage. A also received 20 million KRW (15,000 USD) in damages from B.
The dispute continues, with both sides trading claims over whether the in-laws were negligent and whether child support has been unpaid. Hong’s camp has said—via a YouTube channel—that some alimony has been paid and that child support is being withheld pending appeal; A’s side has denied those assertions.
